Brain Food

With the growth of technology, there is more data available to us now than ever before. By just the click of a button, a company can learn more about their customer base including their habits, hobbies, and passions. However, many folks can become quickly overwhelmed with all the data that’s out there– how does one sort through it all? And how exactly can it help your business? Luckily, there are plenty of secrets to gaining control over the elusive “big data” that’s taking over headlines today. Read on to learn more about how small businesses are taking on big data!

So, what is “big data” anyway?

Great question! Without getting too muddled in tech jargon “big data” is, according to Forbes, a collection of data from traditional and digital sources inside and outside your company that represents a source for ongoing discovery and analysis. The important thing to keep in mind for your small business is to know how to make use of this data in a way that will help to fulfill your business goals. Understanding big data is one thing– making sense of it all is another!

How can your small business utilise this data?

While there is tons of raw and untapped data out there, it doesn’t have to be a struggle to make sense of it all. No longer are big businesses the only ones who can tap into this data stream– here’s what you can do to help your business succeed!

Make Use of Google Analytics

With an easy-to-use interface, this free tool can tremendously help you to reach your annual business goals. You can track everything from the number of visitors you get to how long they stay, where they came from, where they go, and just about any other data point you can possibly imagine! Google helps to sort this information into charts so you can compare data points daily, weekly, monthly, etc.

Look at the Sum of It All

Similar to Google Analytics, SumAll makes it easy to consolidate all of your business data. If you use multiple online platforms (think: Facebook, Twitter, etc.), SumAll will organise the information from each into an easy-to-read snapshot. With this free platform, you can include Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Google Analytics, AdWords, and AdSense, as well as many other social media platforms.

The Long and Short of It

By implementing these platforms to mine through and organise your businesses data, you can make big changes– changes that will ultimately help you to reach your goals this year. Big data can show you trends that will help you to decide whether or not to raise or lower prices of a certain product or service, change up your online marketing or content scheme, etc. Though it may sound scary, big data doesn’t have to be something your small business hides from. Embrace all of the data that is available today– it can only help you to succeed and thrive!